There I was, minding my own business at Peachtree Books when this lunatic comes racing in the door and knocks me into his arms. I would have ripped him a new one, but he was kinda familiar, and hot. Like I-want-to-have-your-sexy-babies-now hot.

Turns out he looks familiar because I stare at his gorgeous face on TV every week. Yup, Dalton Deangelo. In the oh-so-firm flesh.

I let him hide out from the press for a while, then I thought he'd be on his way, and I could breathe normally again. But no. He found me interesting. He wanted to tag along to my cousin's wedding with me. I couldn't say no to that face ... or THOSE EYES. Before the night was through, he was saying sweet things, then dirty things. Very dirty things.

I'm just a regular girl, and he's rich and famous with no body fat. The guy has a butler! So, why is he chasing me? And why can't I say no? And what is this sordid secret of his the reporters are trying to uncover?

“Faster, Lionheart, you little stud-pony, faster!”

If Stardust was a woman (or a man), s/he would be fast, easy, and funny.

This book showed up on Amazon’s Best Seller list, so I shrugged and thought “why not”. A few chapters in, I almost ditched it because I felt like I was losing brain cells. Then, I turned on the television and proceeded to watch Hardcore Pawn. I decided that was quite ironic, and went back to reading.

The beginning unfolded like a whirl-wind ”meet-cute” from a cheesy rom-com, and we are introduced to Peaches Monroe and our hot male MC, Dalton, in quick succession. Peaches works in a bookstore, and that’s always a big plus in my book. It’s one of the main reasons I decided to keep reading.

Peaches is your average small-town girl who has enough curves to make up for the lack of exciting population where she lives. Just when she thought life couldn’t get anymore “small-town” , Dalton D’Angelo, who plays a smoldering, sexy vampire on television, storms into her bookstore, and knocks her off her feet. Literally. Events unfold and reveal themselves quite quickly after this first meeting. The same can be said for our main characters, if you get my drift.

We meet a few more town-folk and Peaches’ roommate and parents, but they only appear enough to flesh out the story. I loved the personality of Peaches’ roommate/cousin, but was a bit creeped out by Peaches’ relationship with her parents. What I initially thought was an aimless, sex-scene driven novel, became quite the barrel of laughs. Notting Hill-esque charm, and Bridget Jone’s Diary style humor made Stardust shine.

There is a juicy plot twist to this seemingly simple story, and it is GOOD. I don’t know if I’ve ever laughed so much while reading a book. The pacing of the story is what turned me off initially, but I decided to leave my critical shoes at the door, and enjoy the ride. Sure, the humor is a little raunchy and the lemons are the kind you need to read in a dark closet by yourself, but even the most prudent of readers can find some enjoyment in this novel. Peaches Monroe taught me that I’m hot and love-able no matter what the size on my undie tag reads. I thought this thirty-something-year-old was all “AHA’ed” out until I entered Peaches’ stream of consciousness. I was pleasantly reminded that life and love don’t start five pounds from now, and I’m hotter than I think. Thanks for making me laugh, Peaches Monroe, and for being an inspiration for all ladies, thick and thin.

“Call me Braveheart,” Dalton urged.

“You mean Lionheart. So help me, do not make me think about Mel Gibson when I’m in this state,” I breathed.

Classical music nerd by day, freelance writer and blogger by night. When I review books, I don't dish out and rehash every character and detail. What's the point of reading a book if you give most of the deets away in a review??? My reviews are more about my impressions and over all experience with the book. I am also a world-renowned armchair psychologist, and love to psychoanalyze authors.